The Familial Affair
by SpontaneousCombustion
Summary: Sequel to Catching Fire. Summer vacation has finally arrived, and our favorite group of heroes-in-training are about to find out that Alexa's family is more messed up than they ever would have thought- even for a family of supers!
1. Chapter 1

SC: So, hello again

SC: So, hello again. I couldn't help it, I can't stay away from this fandom. So, I'm doing a sequel. I'm not sure if its going to go over well, but… hey, might as well try. So, here's Catching Fire's sequel,

Disclaimer: I don't own Sky High or any of its characters, just the ones I made up.

Chapter 1

Plans

"I can't believe he managed to get detention on the last day of school." Will muttered as he floated above his friends heads, anxious.

"Will, quit hovering." Magenta sighed. "It was Lash and Speed- did you really think they would just graduate and leave us alone?"

"Well, I'd kinda hoped…"

The doors slammed open behind them- making Will drop a few feet in surprise- and a very annoyed Warren Peace walked out.

"You know, I really do hope they turn into villains. That way I have a _viable_ excuse for pounding them."

"What'd they do, anyways?" Ethan asked. Warren's face turned red, and he didn't answer.

The doors opened again, this time without so much slamming, and the person who came out of the moved next to Warren and slipped her hand into his. "Something about me and certain body parts of mine that I'd rather not repeat." Alexa sighed, tucking a piece of blonde hair behind her ear.

"Must've been something really bad if it's got Warren blushing." Zach muttered. Warren's fist rose threateningly, and Zach's mouth closed.

"So why'd Warren get detention and they didn't?"

"Well, they _would've_…" Alexa started. "Except…" She looked up at Warren.

"They needed _immediate_ medical attention." He smirked.

Will shook his head, floating down to the ground, then glanced over at his girlfriend, who was sitting on the bottom step, reading. "Hey, Layla, how come Warren isn't getting his usual lecture?"

"Because _she_ heard what Lash and Speed said too." Warren chuckled. "I just have a quicker means of attack." He called back as he descended the steps toward their landing bus.

"So, anybody got summer plans?" Layla questioned as they claimed their usual seats in the back.

"My parents are taking a second honeymoon. I politely declined the offer to go along." Warren said, making a face as though he would rather be anywhere else.

"Smart choice." Zach commented. "My family's not doing anything this summer."

"Mine either." Ethan sighed.

"We've got my grandparents coming up from good ol' Texas." Magenta lamented. "I get to spend all summer listening to my grandma complain about my clothes and that I'm not eating enough."

"Better than my summer plans." Will scoffed. "Same as every year- my parents will be busy saving the world and I'll be at home."

Warren glanced back over his seat. "What happened to the 'Stronghold three'?"

"I'm not official yet, remember? They've got to wait until I graduate before that." He turned to the redhead next to him. "What about you?"

"My mom's going to be in the Amazon most of the summer doing research and stuff."

Alexa smirked. "I've got you all beat with two words: Family. Reunion."

"Ooh, fun." Warren said. "Which side?"

"Dad's. Which means I get to go to Arizona."

"Arizona?" Ethan questioned. "That's a little far."

"Which is why we don't usually go." She explained. "My grandparents have a ranch out there, so it fits everybody."

"Everybody?" Magenta questioned. "Just how big is your dad's side?"

Alexa paused. "Uh, well… there's my grandma and grandpa, three uncles, their wives, two aunts, both single, and," Here she paused again, mumbling something under her breath, "Seven cousins, including me and Carson. So, seventeen. Oh, sorry- nineteen. Forgot my parents. My mom's side is even worse- she was raised in the freaking Brady Bunch, and has nine nieces and three nephews."

"Big family." Will said.

"Yeah, well, they haven't quite forgiven mom for the whole… you know, going crazy and turning evil thing, so we aren't speaking to them." The bus's brakes screeched as it pulled to a halt. "My stop." She said, standing up and scooting by Warren (not without giving him a quick kiss, mind you) and climbing down the steps of the bus.

49573945

The smell of brownies drifted into my nose as I opened the door. "I smell something chocolate and brownie like." I called, heading toward the kitchen.

My mom smiled at me. "Great timing, I just pulled these out of the oven." I grinned and reached for the one she offered me. "So, how was school?"

"Good and bad." I said after a moment of contemplation, grabbing a plate and setting the brownie down, licking the melted chocolate off my fingers. "Warren had detention for most of the day, but he got to pound Lash and Speed one last time."

My mother giggled. "Ah, I see. Speaking of your friends, are they busy this summer?"

I paused, thinking back to the conversation on the bus. "Uh, not really. Why?"

She smiled. "Think they'd want to come to the ranch with us?"

"Seriously?!"

"Uh-huh. I already cleared it with your grandparents."

I grinned, taking a bite of my brownie. I paused, swallowed, and set it back down on my plate. Wait a second…

"What kind of brownies are these?" I questioned suspiciously.

My mother shrugged. "Just brownies." I broke it in half. Still warm chocolate chips oozed in the middle of the brownie.

"These are your double chocolate brownies. You only make these when something's wrong or you have bad news for me." I accused. "These are bribe brownies!"

"What? Are not!"

I leant across the table at her. "Point: the last time you made these for me, it was when we though Blue ran away. What's going on?"

My mom sighed and sat down across from me. "You may want to eat the brownie first." I crossed my arms, raising an eyebrow. "Okay, okay. Amanda's coming to the reunion."

There was a crash as I leapt out of my chair and knocked it backward. "WHAT?!"

"Told you."

I shook my head, waving my arms in front of me. "No. No, no, no, no, no. I only agreed to come this year because SHE was supposed to be busy with college work."

She sighed again. "Alexa, sweetie, your grandparents haven't seen you since your fourteenth birthday."

"Which the she-devil _ruined_." I interrupted.

My mom ignored the comment. "Don't you think it would be nice to go see them again?"

"Them, yes. Her, NO."

"Your father and I know how you feel about Amanda, which is why we're letting you bring your friends along. All of them. Even Warren."

I paused, considering this. "Daddy is THAT desperate to get me to go?"

"Yes."

I growled. "Fine. I'll ask. But if less than three of them can come, I'm not going." I threatened as I walked out of the room.

"Deal."

-_The Next Day…_-

Carson looked up from teasing Blue with his stuffed mouse as the door opened. "Hey Warren." She greeted cheerily.

"Hey squirt. Your sister all right? She's not answering her cell, and we were going to head downtown to see if there were any good movies playing."

The cryokinetic grimaced. "Yeah… Alexa's kind of in a bad mood. She hasn't come out of her room since yesterday night."

"What? Why?"

"She got some bad news about the reunion. Feel free to go try and talk to her, though I can't guarantee anything."

Warren shrugged and went upstairs. He attempted to turn the doorknob to Alexa's room, frowning when he found it locked. "Ray? Could you unlock this?" There was a click in reply. This time when Warren turned the knob, the door swung open.

"Ray, I thought I told you to not let anyone in." Alexa's muffled voice came. She had her face buried in her pillow and was lying stomach-down on her bed.

"Gee, love you too."

Alexa's head rose, the look on her face surprised. "Warren? What're you-" Realization dawned in her expression, and she smacked her palm to her forehead. "The movies. That was today, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. I'm thinking that this is a little more important, though." He sat down on the edge of her bed. "What's up? Carson said something about your family reunion…"

Alexa sighed and sat up, scooting next to her boyfriend. "My cousin Amanda is coming."

"Okay…"

She sighed again. "No, see, Amanda and I… we don't along. At all." Warren raised an eyebrow. "Let me put it this way: Amanda is the reason I didn't go to Sky High my freshman year." She shook her head. "If she hadn't graduated a year early, I still wouldn't be."

"Wow. That bad."

"Yeah. It's been a mutual hate-hate thing since I was five."

Warren frowned. "Why? What happened?"

"It was at the family reunion that year- we were tree climbing, and Amanda shoved me off of the branch I was standing on- about twenty feet up. I didn't have room to open up my wings, so I hit the ground. Broke my collarbone and a couple ribs." She was glaring at the floor. "It just got progressively worse from then on- it took a snake in my bed to figure out she was doing it on purpose."

"What? How do you know it was her?"

"It was her snake." She muttered. "It bit me, and I fried it."

"It _bit_ _you_?" Alexa rolled up her pant leg and turned her calf toward him. There were two circular scars spaced evenly apart halfway down.

"That's about when I started fighting back." Alexa pushed her jeans back down. "Amanda's goal in life is to ruin mine. She's in college now, and she wasn't supposed to come to the reunion- that's why I said I'd go. I just found out that she's coming."

"Guess it's a pretty good reason to be pissed." Warren conceded. "Why don't you just not go?"

"Can't. I haven't seen my grandparents since my fourteenth birthday- besides, dad's desperate for me to come." She smiled suddenly. "Speaking of which… you haven't changed your summer plans yet, have you?"

It took Warren a second to figure out what she was asking. "He is desperate."

"Incredibly. He's letting me bring everyone else, too."

"Oh great."

"Please, War?" Alexa begged.

"I'll ask my parents." Warren finally conceded. "And I doubt they'll say no." He couldn't hold back a smile as Alexa hugged him, and wrapped an arm around her waist.

When she sat back, she looked up at him. "So, you think we still have time to catch that movie?"

--

Aria didn't look up from her magazine as the front door opened and closed. "Have a fun time at the movies?"

"Yes."

"And…?"

"Everyone's coming." She finally relented.

Snowsong couldn't help smiling. "Guess you'd better start packing."

"Yeah, yeah."

456467475

"You know how to reach us if there's any trouble." Jetstream said helpfully.

Aria laughed. "Will? Trouble? Josie, stop worrying. He'll be fine. You and Steve go save the world and relax a little. You always did like Italy."

She smiled. "Alright. Bye Will!"

"Bye mom." He called, climbing into the red van with his friends and shutting the door behind him.

"Nice of you to join the party." Warren chuckled as Will climbed in back with Zach and Ethan.

"My mom was worrying about stuff." He explained. "I miss anything fun?"

"Alexa was about to give us a rundown of her family tree." Magenta said, turning around in the front seat. "You came just in time."

"Yeah, you might want to get Warren to pop some of that popcorn back there." Alexa said dryly. "Okay, let's see… there's my grandma, retired, but if you guys have heard of Pyranite that's her. My blood grandfather- The Eagle- died when my dad was three, he's where the wings came from. They had three kids; my dad, obviously, his older brother Peter- better known as Prometheus. They're fraternal twins, by the way. My aunt Julie- a.k.a Flare- is the youngest and does. Peter's married to Kendra, who goes by Komodo.

"Grandma got remarried to Troy Cariot, also retired, used to go by Ark. He had two kids from _his _first marriage, my uncle Brad and aunt Katie, Richter and Hydra respectively. He and grandma had a son together, my uncle Robbie, the youngest of the bunch. He goes by Surgeon. Brad's married to Eileen, she's a civilian, and my Robbie is married to Alison, the infamous Glycerin. Neither of my aunts are married.

"As for kids, there's the she-devil herself, Amanda. Her parents are Brad and Eileen. Then there's me, Carson, Julie's son Daniel, Peter and Kendra's twins Louis and Lily, and then Robbie and Alison have nine month old Aubrey." Alexa let out a deep breath. "And I think that's it."

"Holy crap." Zach laughed.

"I think we deserve popcorn after that." Will teased.

Alexa punched at him. "Oh, shut up."

Layla looked over at her. "I recognized all your aunts' and uncles' codenames, but what are your cousins' powers?"

"Amanda has energy projection, it makes her a real _bitch _ to try and fight with."

"Speaking from experience, I assume."

"Shut up Warren. Daniel can solidify light into just about anything he wants, Louis is a teleporter- we have no idea where he got that from-, Lily's a shapeshifter, but her powers aren't fully developed yet, so she can only do partial shifts. And Aubrey's so little that we're not sure what his power is yet."

They all looked up as Aria slid into the driver's seat. "We all ready to go?"

"Yep." Alexa said. "All our stuff's in the car with dad and Carson, Warren's keeping Blue happy, and the birds are with Carson and dad."

"Great. Let's go."

--

A few hours into the trip, everyone got bored enough to start asking questions again. "So what kind of animals do your grandparents have, Alexa?"

"Well, there's about two dozen horses, maybe more if the mares had their babies already, three dogs, five or six itty-bitty puppies, two cats, several birds, god knows how many cows and chickens… am I forgetting anything?" I asked my mom.

"Rupert."

"Ah, yes. And the duck."

"Your grandparents have a duck?" Ethan asked incredulously.

"He's house broken." My mom laughed, turning off the exit after my dad. "Looks like we're going to get lunch. You guys hungry yet?"

My stomach, Warren's, Will's and Zach's rumbled in reply- Layla, Magenta, and Ethan had been smart and brought snacks for themselves. "Lunch it is, then."

--

Another hour or so after we got lunch, and we arrived at the ranch. "I missed this place." Carson said with a grin as we looked up at the huge house in front of us.

"Holy shit." I heard Will behind me. "I was wondering where they had room for all the animals and crap but… jeez. Are there three floors?"

"Yeah." I answered a little awkwardly. I didn't like flaunting how rich my family was in front of my friends.

But, I didn't have to think about it for long as the door opened and a rush of blue cotton and grey hair hugged me. "Lexi, darling, how long has it been? You've gotten so tall!"

I smiled and hugged the woman back. "Hi grandma." She stepped back to look at me, smiling. "It's good to see you too."

Amelia Cariot was in pretty good shape for someone who was almost seventy. Few of time's worst effects had touched her- she barely had any wrinkles, still had a pretty good body- the only sign of her age were her grandkids and her hair.

"And my little care-bear!" Carson turned crimson.

"Nana!" She protested.

"Oops, sorry. Old habits." My grandmother laughed, obviously not sorry at all, hugging my sister. She turned back to me. "Aren't you going to introduce your old grandmother to your friends?"

"Huh? Oh, right." I quickly ran through the list. "And this is Warren."

My grandmother quirked an eyebrow. "Ah, so this is the infamous Warren Peace I've heard so much about."

I could feel Warren stiffen slightly at my side- he was so used to being judged by his name… and his father. "I remember your father when he was your age," My grandma continued, "He used to come home with Elliot all the time and could scarf down a plate of my chocolate chip cookies all by himself. Usually did, too."

Warren relaxed, smiling. "Yeah, that sounds like my dad."

"Well, come on in." She invited. "No point standing around outside like idiots."

"I like your grandma." Warren said in a low voice.

I laughed and hugged his arm. "I thought you might."

The woman in question didn't even notice our conversation, she was so caught up talking to my parents. "Aria, its so good to see you again- it was such a relief when that mess with you and Barron got cleared up."

"You have no idea, Amelia." My mom laughed.

"You were slow this year, Elliot. Robbie and Peter both beat you here."

"We got kinda lost." Mom explained. "Someone wouldn't ask me for directions."

"Aria…"

"He gets it from his father- they both have an impeccable sense of direction, but put them in a car… and it vanishes into thin air!"

"Mom…"

Carson butted in before my dad could further complain. "Wait, if uncle Peter's here, does that mean Lucifer and Lilith are here too?"

"Louis and Lily are both here, yes." My mom emphasized their names.

I 'hmph'ed. "At least Amanda's not here yet."

My grandmother pretended not to hear me, distracting herself with my grandpa's entrance. "Hello Alexa."

"Hey gramps." I replied teasingly, giving him a warm hug. Like my grandma, Troy Cariot did not look his age. His muscles were clearly visible underneath the sleeves of his sweater, and the only signs of grey in his hair were very Mr. Fantastic-ish stripes at his temples. I did another quick run through of my friends for him as well.

"Well, now that we're all acquainted, why don't we get you kids to your rooms? Then Alexa and Carson can give you the grand tour."

It didn't take too long for everyone to haul their stuff upstairs to the third floor (dubbed the unofficial kids floor since before I was born) - mostly thanks to Will- and we quickly showed them around the house. That's about as far as we got, because the pool distracted us and we were all quickly busy running back upstairs for our swimsuits.

--  
SC: Okay, well, hopefully this wasn't too bad of a first chapter. I'm also thinking of starting a holiday story in this genre- but it would probably give away some spoilers for the later stories I'm going to do. Anyway, I'd really like to know if you guys like this or not. If not, I'll just take it down and try again with a different plot.

Ja ne  
SC

PS: While Alexa's family members' codenames may be common knowledge in the Sky High-verse, you guys aren't psychic, so here's a helpful list (in order of introductions in Alexa's speech):

Official Heroes:

_Name, age: Codename; powers_

Amelia Loaw-Cariot, 67: Pyranite; pyrokinesis, limited invulnerability

Devlin Hale, deceased: Avian flight (wings), limited super-strength

Peter Hale, 42: Prometheus; super-strength, pyrokinesis, limited invulnerability

Julie Hale, 40: Flare; light bursts- levels, stun/temporary blindness to super-nova

Kendra Thames-Hale, 42: Komodo; reptilian shapeshifter

Troy Cariot, 69: Ark; Electrokinetic

Bradley Cariot, 43: Richter; earthquakes

Katelyn Cariot, 45: Hydra; hydrokinetic

Robert Cariot, 39: Surgeon; healer

Eileen Adams-Cariot, 44: civilian

Alison Remington-Cariot, 37: Glycerin; energy manipulation to create explosions, by touch or thought

Heroes in Training:

_Name, age: codename (if graduate of Sky High); powers_

Amanda Cariot, 19: Undecided; energy projections

Daniel Hale, 12; solidifies light

Louis Hale, 11; teleporter

Lily Hate, 11; shapeshifter- not fully developed

Aubrey Cariot, 9 months; unknown.


	2. Chapter 2

SC: Wow, this went over surprisingly well. I'm really grateful. I'm getting seriously into this fandom, so this is more than likely NOT going to be my last story. Hopefully, anyway.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sky High or any of its characters, just the ones I made up.

Chapter 2

I had learned two things in the hour or so I'd been back at my grandparents' ranch-

One: Do not start a splash fight with your cryokinetic little sister, and

Two: Warren Peace looks _really_ good in nothing but swim trunks.

Magenta tilted her head to the side slightly, watching as the boys played chicken in the pool. "You know, I _am_ beginning to see the merits of sitting out."

I smiled, watching the same thing she was. "Magenta, you are one of my best friends, but if you don't stop ogling Warren, I will not hesitate to melt your eyes from your sockets."

"If that's the last thing I see, I will bleed to death with a smile on my face."

Layla was trying to peer inconspicuously over her sunglasses. Obviously, it wasn't working. "I knew Warren had muscles, but…"

"Seriously- stop it. You both have boyfriends. Look at them."

"You're turning green, Alexa." Lily piped up from my lap. I was busy braiding her waist length blonde hair so it wouldn't get knotted in the pool. "Lou, be careful! You aren't indestructible!"

"Whatever." Louis called back, trying to wrestle Zach off of Will's shoulders. Zach attempted retaliation, practically leaping off Will's shoulders, but only hit air as my cousin teleported out of the way and reappeared next to Carson on the opposite end of the pool. Us girls were busy cracking up as Zach, Warren, and Will all ended up going under.

"What's going on out here? Louis, what did you do?" Aunt Kendra asked, walking outside. The twins had inherited her dusty blonde hair and bright green eyes.

"Why do you automatically blame me?"

"Because you do usually have something to do with it." I reminded him.

"And I wonder whose fault that is." Aunt Kendra said, giving me a 'look.' I put what I hoped was a look of total and complete innocence was on my face. "Yeah, uh-huh. That look stopped working when you were seven."

"Dang." Of course, that isn't what I actually said, which is why my aunt smacked me upside the head as soon as the word left my mouth.

"Watch your mouth."

"Like they haven't heard worse." I responded. Kendra conceded to this with a sigh, scooting me over to finish braiding her daughter's hair.

"Thanks!" Lily called, jumping into the pool, splashing Warren and the other boys.

"Be nice, Lily." Her dad called from inside. We had barely been here thirty minutes, and my dad and uncle Peter were already playing cards. I swear, that's all they ever did around each other. That, and tell embarrassing stories.

I looked up as baby coos suddenly came outside. "Look who wants to see his cousins." Allison laughed, her usually curly black hair cut short in a way that suited her pixie-like nature better. That, and- from what I'd heard- Aubrey was a hair puller.

I rushed over, being the only dry cousin. "Hello Aubrey." I cooed, taking him from my aunt. He burbled, tugging my hair. I winced, grateful that neither of his parents had super strength. Fuzzy brown hair covered his scalp, and he had his dad's bright blue eyes. Carefully, I pried his fingers away from my hair as I walked over and sat down by Kendra.

"I wanna hold him!" Lily said, rushing over, water flying everywhere. I turned up the heat just enough to make it fizzle out before it hit me or Aubrey.

"You're all wet." I told her. "Dry off first."

"You aren't his mom."

Allison walked up beside me. "You're all wet, dry off first."

Lily rolled her eyes and walked off. I went back to playing with Aubrey, until a shadow got in my light, and Aubrey squirmed in my arms trying to see what it was from. I looked up to see Warren standing there, already dry, as Will and Zach went off for their towels. "Aubrey, right?" He questioned sitting down.

"Yep." I could practically feel my aunts' gazes boring holes in the back of my head. I sighed. "Warren, my aunt Kendra and aunt Allison. Auntie dearests, this is Warren." I shifted the still squirming Aubrey so he was sitting in my lap and could see Warren. He was apparently fascinated.

"Aw, cute. The kid likes you, Warren." Magenta teased.

"Aubrey likes everyone." Allison told her. "He's a sweetheart."

That's about when my mom walked outside. "Why don't you guys go get unpacked and changed before dinner's ready?"

"In other words, Aria wants the baby." Kendra translated.

"That too." My mom laughed. I stood up, handing Aubrey off to her as the rest of us went inside.

5674575

As Magenta, Layla, and Alexa got back to the room we were sharing, Alexa shut the door behind them. "Okay, I'm about to swear you guys to secrecy."

The two of them glanced at each other. "Why?"

"You two are about to see something that Warren doesn't even know about."

"Ooh, I feel special." Maj laughed.

"I'm serious. This never leaves this room." She warned them, going over to her suitcase and opening it up. Digging through her clothes for a minute, Alexa finally unearthed her 'big secret.' Turning around, she showed them. "This is Cody McStuffington the Third."

Cody McStuffington III was a teddy bear. And he was a very worn out old teddy bear. Patches of threadbare fur sparingly decorated his mocha colored body, and on of his eyes had obviously been replaced, as they were different colors and sizes- a large green one and a smaller and more natural looking chocolate brown one. A frayed, blue bow was tied around his neck.

"You sleep with a teddy?" Magenta asked.

"He's like my security blanket." Alexa explained, hugging him to her chest. "I got him when I was, like, three, and I haven't been able to sleep without him since."

"I think it's cute." Layla said. "But… he's kinda worn out."

"Battle scars." Alexa clarified. "Don't ask. Please don't tell the guys. Especially not Warren."

"Okay. Your dirty little secret is safe with us." Magenta assured her. "Now let's get out of these wet suits and into some clothes."

"Good idea." I said- though mine was dry already. It didn't take us long to get changed, but I decided to stay behind to unpack as Magenta and Layla headed downstairs.

I was about halfway done when I heard someone clearing their throat and looked up. "So, are you going to stay in here the rest of the day, or are you coming downstairs to make this less awkward?"

"Nope, I'm staying in here and letting fend for yourselves." I laughed.

Warren smiled and walked in, putting his hands on my waist. "Let me rephrase that- get your butt downstairs, now."

"What about the rest of me?" I asked, just trying to be annoying now. Warren quickly solved this problem as he scooped me up and carried me out of the room. "WARREN!" He just laughed and took me down the stairs.

"Got her." He announced, dropping me on the couch, on top of Will and Uncle Peter. I pulled my arm back, aiming a fireball toward the back of his head.

"No fireballs in the house." My grandma warned, and I extinguished it with a sullen 'fwoosh,' scooting off of Will.

"You just wait." I warned my boyfriend.

He grinned at me cockily. "Shaking in my boots over here."

"Don't tease her, she'll do it, grandmother or not." Aunt Kate warned. "And I really don't want to put the house out again."

"Again?" My friends asked automatically.

"One of Alexa's infamous bouts with Amanda." Daniel clarified, playing with his remote controlled plane and flying it in circles near the ceiling.

"Which one? Alexa's set the house on fire, like, six times." Lily said. My friends all looked over at me, and I suddenly decided that the ceiling was a _very _interesting color.

"Well, technically, the first time wasn't her fault." Uncle Robby (Robert) defended. "I mean, none of us can control our powers when we're two years old."

"Not helping." I growled, still looking at the ceiling.

"So, was Alexa bad about that as a kid?" Magenta asked.

"Well, she kept me busy." As previously mentioned, my uncle Robby is known as 'Surgeon' in the hero world- he's an Alpha class healer. In other words: he's good. "I've gotten more practice at healing burns in this house than out in the field."

"You know what, I'm gonna go help grandma in the kitchen. All of you can rot." I said, standing up.

Or attempting to, at least. This is why I didn't sit next to the people with super strength. Peter grabbed my arm and tugged me back down. "C'mon, Alexa, we're just kidding. We won't embarrass you in front of your friends any more."

"Tonight." My grandfather teased.

"Oh, haha, you're all so hilarious." I dead-panned. "Check your beds before you go to sleep tonight, losers."

"Now, now. Don't be so touchy, Alexa." My grandmother said, walking out of the kitchen. "And if anyone cares, dinner's ready." I was the first one up and into the kitchen, my face still red. When I saw what we were having- hamburgers and hotdogs, stuff like that- I suddenly remembered something and turned back to the living room. "Hey, Daniel? Do you mind sharing with Layla? She's a vegetarian too."

"Really? Finally! Someone ELSE is in the house that can help me argue with you guys."

"Don't count on it, squirt." Carson said, coming into the kitchen and grabbing a plate. "We're immune to both of your arguments."

"Okay, I'm taller than you are now, stop calling me squirt!" Laughter echoed from the living room as Carson gave Daniel a literal case of cold feet.

Everything was going great during dinner, which meant no more stupid stories about me. It was mostly just about back when all of our parents where in Sky High still.

"You know, I remember when Robby started at Sky High." My dad said, nudging his younger brother. "They stuck you as a sidekick." Robert muttered something rather rude sounding under his breath.

"Well, you have to admit, you _were_ a pretty ideal sidekick back then." Julie said, shrugging. "I mean, what hero wouldn't _love_ having a healer for a sidekick. Plus, it was so rare a power."

"Thanks, guys. Making me feel so much better." Robby said, rolling his eyes. "All _I_ remember about my first year at Sky High is Brad and Peter and Katie teasing me all the time about being a sidekick."

"Well, we did stop after a while." Peter defended.

"Of course you did." I said, popping a fry in my mouth. "Now, was that before or after he refused to keep healing you guys so you wouldn't get in trouble for fighting?"

Everyone laughed at that one. My uncle leant across the table, toward my friends. "See, this is why I keep on Lexi's good side- she is evil."

"I'm not evil." I said calmly. "Just… vengeful."

"Ain't that the truth." Lily laughed.

I flicked a fry at her. "Watch it, squirt."

"What, we all know it's true." Louis said, jumping to his sister's defense. "Admit it, Alexa. You have a way bad temper."

I 'hmph'ed. "Only around certain people."

"Yeah, like Lash and Speed." Magenta teased.

"No, I never really had anything against Speed, except that he was always around Lash."

"Who are Lash and Speed?" Alison asked.

Will rolled his eyes. "They were kids who went to school with us. They graduated last spring."

"Thank god." Warren added in.

"They were a couple of the kids who helped Royal Pain to turn everyone at Homecoming last year into babies." My father clarified.

"Oh yeah. I heard they got out. Their parents had to pay out their asses to spring 'em." Peter chuckled. My grandma whacked him with a spoon. "Ow!"

"'Ow' says the invulnerable one." Julie joked. "The spoon bent!"

"Mom hits hard."

"Watch your mouth and I won't have to hit you." She retorted.

The front door slammed open and we all looked up. "Sorry we're late, everyone. We had to go pick up an extra someone."

That would be my uncle Bradley. I could suddenly feel all my cousins staring at me as I moved my gaze toward my food.

"You say it like I _wanted_ my car to break down, dad." Three pairs of footsteps entered the kitchen. "Wow, we're really late this year, huh?"

And _that_ was my worst nightmare. I glanced up from my food at the three standing in the kitchen door. And, while I was so happy to see my aunt and uncle, my gaze traveled directly to the she witch herself.

My college bound cousin looked glamorous, as usual, in all designer clothes with a Channel purse hanging off her arm, and matching sunglasses dangling from her hand. Her dark brown hair was in a tight braid down her back, and her green-blue eyes surveyed the extra guests at the table curiously, falling, not surprisingly, on Warren. "Doesn't look like there's any room for us." She teased, her eyes not moving.

As much as I wanted to, I would not start the feud this early. Pushing my chair back, I stood up, grabbing what was left of my food. "You know what, I'm finished, Amanda can have my spot." No one bothered to stop me as I threw my plate in the trash and headed upstairs. I heard my friends excuse themselves and come up after me.

"What was _that_?!" Magenta asked, sitting down a good distance away from me on my bed. I was kind of flickering in and out of flaming right now. Through gritted teeth, I explained the situation between Amanda and I.

"That explains a lot." Ethan said, nodding.

"What a bitch." Zach agreed. I chuckled. "I would've fried her."

"Trust me, I had to restrain myself." We looked up as their was a knock on the door.

"We're done with dinner, think you can manage coming back downstairs?" Carson asked.

"I guess I can try." I growled. "But I see Amanda look at Warren like that again, I'm melting her face and not even Uncle Peter's gonna be able to stop me." I added under my breath as I walked out.

But, judging by the smile on Warren's face as I passed him, he heard me anyway.

--

SC: Trust me, this is only gonna get better. Or worse, depending on your standing. R&R please!

Ja ne

SC


	3. Chapter 3

SC: Okay, so, this is where that 'T' rating comes into play for something other than Alexa's potty mouth- there are implications of non-kid-friendly activities, so be forewarned.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sky High or any of its characters, just the ones I made up.

Chapter 3

"Ah, there you guys are!" Elliot said, waving the group of teens down. "We've been waiting on you."

"No seats left, you guys are going to have to sit on the floor." Peter teased.

"For what?" Will questioned.

Alexa groaned. "Ah crap… I forgot about this."  
"First night back is family movie night." Troy explained. "Which Alexa seems to have forgotten."

"Oh, I _have got_ to see this." Magenta said, running around the couches to claim a spot on the carpet. The rest followed, Alexa hanging her head.

"God, if you are merciful, smite me now." She muttered. Warren pinched her, pulling her down next to him.

"How bad can it be?" She glared at him. "Just thought I'd ask."

"Alright," Troy began, "Which one should we start with?"

"This one!" Louis yelled, almost before he had finished, handing him the tape. Troy checked the date before sliding it into the VCR with a chuckle. The image flickered to life after a moment, and Carson groaned.

"Ah crap…"

The video showed what apparently was a dance studio- mirrors covered the visible wall, and the reflection showed that it was Elliot taping… as well as a little blonde girl doing pirouettes. "Oh my god." Will laughed.

"Is… is that _Carson_?!" Warren demanded incredulously. "You took ballet?"

"Takes." Daniel corrected. Much staring.

"I am going to kill you all." Carson muttered, her face practically glowing red.

The younger Carson- who could've only been five or six- wobbled slightly, putting her foot down to balance herself a second too late and falling, and the music playing in the background stopped. "_Carson_?" Another blonde walked onto the screen, easily recognizable by the grey feathered wings coming out of her back.

The video-Alexa knelt down by her sister. "_Car, did you hurt yourself?_" Vid-Carson nodded, her lip wobbling, and pointed to her skinned knee.

"Everybody say it with me now: aww…" Magenta said, elbowing Alexa. She halfheartedly smacked her away. The videos continued, going through birthday parties, holidays, and other such events, until…

"_Guess who's here?_" Everyone familiar with the video suddenly stiffened.

"Daniel… turn it off." Alexa said quietly.

"Why?" Amanda asked, smirking down at her cousin from her position lounging on one of the shorter couches. "I thought you were over it, Lexi."

"Amanda, shut up!" Lily ordered. "Danny, turn it off!"

"_Keith!_" A very happy and slightly younger looking Alexa ran into the camera's view, hugging the blonde boy standing in the doorway… and then the video stopped, because Peter was smart enough to grab the remote and turn off the entire TV.

"I think that's enough for tonight." Aria said quietly. "We should all get some sleep." Murmurs of agreement went around the room save from a select few, and everyone made their way upstairs.

"Alexa, are you okay?" Warren asked, stopping outside the door of the girls' room.

She nodded. "Yeah. I'm… I'm fine. Night." She kissed his cheek lightly before following Magenta and Layla into the room and shutting the door.

"You're a really bad liar." Magenta told the blonde as she changed into her pajamas. "Look, your wings are even drooping."

"I'm just tired." Alexa said quietly, the flame flickering over her back as they disappeared again before she climbed into her bed. Magenta and Layla looked over at each other worriedly before flicking off the lights and climbing into bed themselves.

--

Warren Peace was a light sleeper- hence why he was wearing headphones to bed to block out Zach's buzz saw snoring.

Unfortunately, the cd player's batteries had died from being overused in the car ride, and Zach's snoring was becoming rather prevalent. He wasn't quite sure how Ethan and Will were still asleep (he did, however, know they were bastards). So, he was going to do something that he knew probably wasn't the brightest idea and find some new batteries. He didn't bother trying to be quiet for his roommates, an earthquake wouldn't wake those idiots up, and snuck down the stairs (skipping the third one from the top on the second flight, it was squeaky- thank you, Alexa).

However, half way down the last flight of stairs (boys rooms were on the third floor, haha), he was surprised to hear noise and light coming from the living room. Slowly, he made his way down to the bottom step and peered around the corner. Alexa was sitting on the couch- the wings and blonde hair were a big clue- and she was watching the video that Peter had cut off earlier.

_"Keith!"_

_"Jeez, Alexa. Calm down."_ Keith laughed teasingly, the slightest hint of a southern accent in his voice, hugging her back with one arm. _"Your present's heavy, lemme go put it down."_

The image froze, and Alexa's head turned slightly. "You can come off the staircase, Warren."

He grimaced about the fact that he had been spying on her (and caught) but moved over to the couch and sat down next to his girlfriend. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Alexa replied quietly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "You just give off a lot of heat. Trying to sneak up on another pyro probably wasn't very smart."

Warren conceded to that with a nod, before looking back at the frozen screen. "This is…"

"Yeah. My fourteenth birthday." Alexa sighed. "And thirteen days before my first boyfriend broke my heart."

"Is that why you don't like to watch this?" Warren questioned gently.

"Something like that." Alexa smirked, grabbing the remote and hitting the fast-forward button. She hit the play button just as the cake was being brought out. "Watch for Amanda." She said.

Warren frowned, looking back toward the screen, until he saw what Alexa wanted. As 'Happy Birthday' was being sang, the older girl slipped out the front door without anyone noticing. "Keep watching." Alexa ordered quietly. Five minutes passed, and Warren finally got it. Keith was leaning over Alexa's shoulder, saying something quietly, and Alexa frowned, but nodded and kissed his cheek. He quickly left too.

"That bastard."

Alexa paused the tape again, nodding. "Yeah. That 'older girl' I told you Keith cheated on me with? It was Amanda." She bit her lip. "Warren, I… well, I almost didn't invite you to come here. Amanda has made ruining my life into an art form… and nothing has ever made her happier than taking Keith."

"Hey, give me a little credit." Warren laughed. "She's not my type."

"I know that, I know that. It was just a scary thought…" She glanced over at him. "What are you doing down here, anyway?"

"Huh? Oh…" He held out his dead cd player. "The batteries died, and Zach snores like a buzz saw."

Alexa laughed. "I see. C'mon, I'll show you the battery drawer."

_The Next Morning…_

"Warren! Get up!"

"Carson… I'm dating your sister, that doesn't mean I won't kill you."

"No, seriously. Get. Up. You have like six minutes before Alexa and the devil twins have free reign over wake up call."

Warren lifted his face from his pillow, giving her a 'WTF are you talking about' look. "Look, let's just say it involves a couple of high powered NERF™ super soakers, and a _lot_ of cold water.

"We're up!" Zach, Ethan, and Will called at once.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Carson said, walking out.

--

"You get the boys up?" Magenta yawned as Carson came back downstairs.

"Yeah." She said, scratching the back of her head. "They oughta be down here in about three seconds."

"They'd better hurry…" Lily giggled.

The kitchen was nowhere near as full as it had been the night before for dinner- Amelia was working on getting breakfast ready with Julie and Eileen, while Troy, Allison (who was giving Aubrey his bottle), Robert, and Kendra sat at the table, most sipping coffee. Lily and Louis were standing by Alexa, wielding already full super soakers, while she filled a third. Daniel was setting the table, while Magenta filled a coffee mug for her and Layla.

Warren, Will, Zach, and Ethan made their way downstairs. "Aw, Carson, why'd you warn them?" Louis whined.

"Hey, everyone gets one warning." Alexa said from the sink. "Not my problem if they didn't set their alarms."

"You see," Robert started, "The rule around here is that everyone's supposed to be up by ten, unless you're sick or otherwise invalid."

"A lot of people didn't follow the rule, though, so mom decided to give the duty to the kids to wake everyone up." Julie continued. "At the time, it was only Amanda, Alexa, and Carson, though, and Carson was only three, so Alexa took it upon herself to do it."

"Hey, I'm being nice now." She protested. "I used to set everyone on fire, and just jump on Peter and Julie and my dad until they finally got up." She glanced over at the clock. "Sweet. Louis, Lily, come on." Alexa twisted the cap on the super soaker she had been filling. Carson gave all three a tap and the trio of terror ran up the staircase.

"She's enjoying that way too much." Warren commented.

"Well, duh." Daniel said. "Look around. Who's not up?"

There was a shriek from upstairs. "ALEXA!"

"You know the rule, Amanda! Up by ten or I have free reign!" Alexa yelled back, running back down the stairs.

"Alexa…" Troy said. "Did you use the entire thing?"

"It wasn't _completely_ full." She replied defensively. "Besides, I haven't been able to do that in two years. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be hiding in the basement with the dogs." She said, bolting for a door on the other side of the room.

Seconds after the door shut, a soaked and thoroughly PISSED looking Amanda stormed down the stairs. "Where. Is. She?" The nineteen year old hissed.

"She went that way." Daniel said, pointing toward the door Alexa had just exited through. Amanda scoffed, heading the opposite direction. Daniel just grinned. "Sucker."

Amelia just shook her head. "Warren, would you mind dragging Alexa up here for breakfast? If she's found the puppies, she's going to be impossible." The pyro nodded, relinquishing his chair and going toward the door.

As he reached the bottom, he was greeted by the sight of three large dogs, all of whom his girlfriend was managing to keep occupied and happy at the same time. "Wow. And here I thought you were a cat person."

Alexa glanced up at him. "Did Daniel send Amanda off already?"

"Yeah. Your grandma wants you back upstairs."

She glanced down at the three canines. "Um… if you can get the monsters off me, I'll try."

"The monsters?" He questioned, walking over.

"Only because they're so dang big." She relented. "This is Miss Belle." She pointed to a white, furry thing. "She's a Great Pyrenees. She guards all the animals. Don't go near the goats when she's in the pen, by the way." Alexa warned.

"Duly noted." Warren said, kneeling down to scratch a rather large, wolfish looking dog who was sniffing at his pant leg curiously.

"That's Malkyn, or Mal for short." She said. "One of the older dogs, Demi, shacked up with a wolf, and hence we have Mal." She scratched the last of the dogs' heads that she was with, obviously another mutt. "And this big brute is Bruno." She said, kissing the dog's furry head. "Baby is the German Shepard in the corner with the little balls of adorable. Mal knocked her up." She said, jerking her thumb at the blocked off corner.

"Baby?"

"Yeah. Apparently, Baby can put herself in a corner." Alexa joked.

"No more 'Dirty Dancing' for you."

"I'm surprised you know where that came from." She replied, letting him pull her to her feet.

"Hey, I lived with my _mom_ for a long time." He reminded her. "And that's her favorite movie. So I've seen it. A lot."

"Aw, poor Warren. He has to watch chick flicks." Alexa giggled as they went up the stairs.

"Hey, don't make me make the phrase 'throw you to the dogs' literal." He warned over his shoulder. She bit her lip, still smiling.

When they came back into the kitchen, the rest of the household was awake, some wetter than others. Amanda had taken a seat at the table and was glaring hatefully at Alexa, who smiled in return and tightened her grip on Warren's hand.

"No PDA in the kitchen." Bradley warned.

Alexa rolled her eyes at her uncle, who was obviously ignoring the fact that his youngest brother had his wife practically in his lap. "Yeah, okay." She said sarcastically, letting go of Warren's hand to grab them both a plate.

"So, you kids up for a tour today?" Amelia asked. "Since Alexa didn't get a chance yesterday." Alexa suddenly became very interested in getting her and Warren some eggs.

"Sounds like fun." Layla said.

Alexa sighed. "Well, since I've apparently just been volunteered…" She muttered. The rest of the table laughed.

0458349

After breakfast and everyone was dressed, I dragged my friends outside to go run around the ranch.

"Alexa, where are we going?" Magenta asked after we'd been trekking for a couple of minutes.

"We're almost there." I called back over my shoulder. I knew I should've gotten the ATVs… so sue me, walking wasn't my favorite hobby. I used to fly everywhere on this ranch, but as most of my friends didn't possess the ability to fly- conventionally or otherwise- my legs got a stretch they really didn't want.

So, I was pretty relieved when the large, wooden building I was looking for came into sight. "This it?" Zach panted. Nice to know that someone was actually in worse shape than I was.

"Yeah, this is it." I said, pushing open the door with my shoulder to prevent any splinters. "Hey, Cal! You in here?"

"Where else would I be you little pyro?" An older male voice called back.

"Oh you're so funny." I muttered under my breath with a sarcastic laugh.

Calvin laughed. "Aren't I just?" He asked, coming out of one of the stables. Cal towered over me at six foot three to my five nine, and was skinny as a rail. His curly blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail that was longer than even Warren's hair, almost as long as mine, and he had the beginnings of a goatee on his chin. His jeans were faded and covered in hay, as was his Avenged Sevenfold T-shirt. Grey eyes looked over the crowd behind me curiously. "Well, if I'd known we had important visitors, I'd have cleaned up a little."

I shook my fist at him, blue flames licking over my knuckles. "Watch it, animal boy. You aren't fireproof."

"Neither is Dodger." He retorted.

I snuffed out the flames. "Touché."

"Who's Dodger?" Will asked.

"Her horse." Cal replied for me. "Better question is, who are all of you?"

I sighed, preparing to go over the list again. "Cal, meet Will, Layla, Zach, Magenta, Ethan, and Warren. Guys, meet Calvin. He works for my grandma and grandpa. And as a plus, he can talk to animals."

"Cool as that is, why are we here?" Magenta asked.

"Well, the only way to get around this place without passing out is to either use the four-wheelers, which scare the animals, or to go on horseback." Cal explained once again. I glared at him.

"Why don't you do your job and go get some of the horses ready?" I growled.

Cal just rolled his eyes and walked off. "And don't you dare get Raz out!" I yelled after him.

"Are you kidding? I'm not _that_ mean!"

Magenta tapped my shoulder. "Do I want to ask?"

"Raz the Spaz." Cal said, walking back out with a saddle under his arm. "He's one of our more… psychotic stallions. No one can ride him."

"I blame Amanda for that." I replied.

"So do I. His full name is Rasputin, the Devil's Equine." Actually, we added that last bit, but that didn't make it any less true.

"Hey, Alexa, no offense, but I don't do well with animals." Magenta said.

"Yeah, me neither." Zach chimed in.

I sighed. "Go back to the house, grab the green keys out of the dish near the garage. Just keep it down to a dull roar." Magenta ran off, Zach and Ethan behind her.

"You do realize that she just wants to play with the four wheelers?" Warren questioned.

I sighed. "Yeah, I know. I fear putting them in her hands but… c'est la vie."

"So… just four horses then?"

"Three." Will corrected. "I'd rather fly. I'm not great with animals either."

"Three then." Cal said, going back to the stables. I heard what sounded like whinnying and neighing, and a deep black stallion came prancing out from the back.

"Hey, Dodger." I said, petting his muzzle when he butted my arm. He nipped at my hair.

"Stupid…" Cal muttered, storming out after him. Something that sounded like an angry whinny came out of his mouth, and Dodger turned about and clopped back over to him, rather annoyed if the snort was any indication. "He just does not get that I can't let you ride bareback anymore."

"Why not?" Warren asked.

"Because _apparently_ the lack of saddle makes them both stupid." Cal said, giving me a 'look.' I started playing the ceiling game again. Hm, funny, I didn't remember that knot up there… "Alexa liked to pretend she was one of those trick riders in the circus."

"Wish I'd seen that." I elbowed Warren.

It took Cal a few minutes, but he managed to saddle Dodger and a couple of the other riding horses for Warren and Layla.

I laughed as Layla had to get Will to help her up into the saddle, and turned to see how Warren was doing (hey, he gets to laugh at me, I get to laugh at him right back), only to see that he had hooked his foot through the stirrup and pulled himself already. "What?" He questioned when he saw me glowering.

"Do you have to be good at _everything_?" I questioned.

"This isn't the first time I've been horseback riding." He informed me, looking rather insulted.

Shit- I was assuming things again. Thankfully, Maj and the boys pulled up before I could say anything else, Zach clinging to Magenta's waist as though his life depended on it.

"I feel bad for him." Layla mused.

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, let's go. And, Maj-"

"Yeah, yeah. Dull roar, I know." She said, rolling her eyes. "Where are we going?"

I pointed to my left. "Straight out that way. We've got an ATV course." The words weren't out of my mouth before Magenta took off, making Zach yelp. Ethan just shook his head and took off after him. Will hovered around near Layla, which meant I needed to apologize to War. I clicked Dodger up next to his horse- Lou, one of our calmer stallions, so no fighting.

I curse Calvin for his perceptiveness.

"Um, War…"

"Don't." He cut me off. "You didn't know I'd ever been horseback riding. Not like I look the type or anything."

I smiled. "I am sorry, though. It took me, like, the entire summer to be able to get on a horse by myself, and I can fly." I paused. "And it didn't help that Dodger was stubborn as hell and practically refused to let me on him. Probably because I looked like a big hawk." I mused. Warren chuckled a little. I looked over at him. "So… are there any other dirty little secrets I need to know that you haven't told me?"

There was a pause, and then, "I know how to waltz."  
I laughed, but at the dead serious look on his face, my jaw dropped. "No way. _Seriously_?!"

"My mother is a cruel and vindictive woman." I covered my mouth, trying to picture Warren… waltzing. I could barely get him to slow dance!

The mental image made me giggle. "What about you, little miss perfect?" Warren teased.

"None you don't already know about, I assure you." I told him. "Wait, no. I play guitar. And, if given enough time, can draw pretty damn well, or so say my cousins."

Warren looked intrigued. "You play guitar?"

"Well, played." I amended. "I haven't in a while. Apparently, all the musical inclination in the family just skipped right over our parents and into us. I play guitar, Carson dances, I think Danny's still playing piano in his school orchestra, and we all regret getting Louis that drum set. Lily plays flute, but not when Louis is around." Warren quirked an eyebrow. "They tend to try to out play each other. The neighbors complain."

Warren laughed. It didn't take long for us to get close enough to hear the others screaming and laughing as they went through the ATV course. Layla was waiting for us, Butterball's reigns in her hand. "She wouldn't go any farther." She explained.

I nodded. "Yeah, we train the horses to stay pretty far away from the course." I told her, clambering off of Dodger's back. I took the reins from her and tied them, along with Dodger's, around the post nearby. "Stay." I ordered Dodge. He huffed a little but didn't tug on the knot, so that was good.

We all went a few rounds on the track before I quit, going over to stand by the horses. I wasn't alone for long, since Warren relinquished his ride to Will to come keep me and the horses company. "Well, hi there." I said as he came in earshot. I could practically feel Layla eyeing me (she had this crazy idea that me and Warren needed to be supervised at all times when together- not sure where she got it from) as I hugged him.

"She's doing it again, isn't she?" Warren muttered.

"Yeah." I confirmed, having a clear view over his shoulder (on my tiptoes, but still). "Are we really that bad?"

"Well, we do tend to light things on fire… like foliage…"

I smacked his shoulder. "That was not my fault!" I glanced around him as Will managed to convince Layla to give the course a go, then grinned. "Follow me." I ordered, grabbing his wrist and dodging into the thick trees beside us.

"Is this one of those 'come with me if you want to live' things? Because I'm pretty sure that's copyrighted."

I turned my face so he could see my rolling my eyes at him. "No, this is a 'come with me if you want to get away from Layla and the rest of the spectators' thing."

Warren grinned. "Oh. I like those."

"I know you do." I replied, not able to hold back a laugh.

"When did they start trying to document every moment of our lives again?" He questioned.

"About the time that they locked us in the locker room." I responded dryly. Yes, you heard me. Our "wonderful" friends locked me and Warren in the girls' locker room. I don't know what they expected to happen, except Warren frying the door.

"You know, Will was right. After the fact, and I beat the snot out of him, it _was_ kind of funny."

I glanced back at him. "That why you toasted the door?"

He shrugged. "Hey, it's my job to defend your honor."

"Uh-huh. And a couple minutes before that, when we were making out?"

"Taking advantage of the situation?" He offered, smiling. I made an honest effort to not roll my eyes as our trek became uphill.

--

Warren pushed a branch out of his way as he followed after his girlfriend. "Alexa, where are we going?"

"You'll see in a second!" She called, laughing. If he didn't know any better, Warren would've thought that this was revenge for something. Alexa stopped suddenly, and he stopped behind her. "We're here." She said quietly, pushing the last few branches away. They were standing on a cliff that overlooked the entire complex.

"Whoa."

Alexa grinned. "Yeah. I found this place about four years back. I came up here when I couldn't deal with Amanda anymore. It's really peaceful, and gave me a chance to calm down _without _frying anything or anyone."

"Seems a little out of the way." Warren couldn't help commenting.

"Well, I usually took the easy route and flew here." She said, pointing to the house, which seemed very far away. "I'd just climb up onto the roof and take off."

"How?"

"That window seat at the end of the hall doesn't have a screen, so I'd just open it up and climb out onto the garage, then onto the house." She shrugged. "Besides, it has a great view, so it was worth it."

Warren looked over at her. "Yes it does."

"Warren, if you were looking at me while you said that, I'm going to have to smack you for being so cheesy." Alexa told him dryly, glancing over.

"You're going to smack me for giving you a compliment?"

Alexa turned toward him. "Unless you give me a reason not to." She taunted, hands on her hips.

Warren took up the challenge, grinning as he pulled her over to him. Alexa smiled as the kiss broke. "Okay, do that again and you can be as cheesy as you damn want."

"Deal." He said, leaning in for another kiss-

-which was rudely interrupted by a loud 'crack'. "Eeewww! Warren's got cooties now."

Alexa's nostrils flared. "Louis!"

"Just came to tell you that it's lunch time." The teleporter said, covering his eyes. "Unfortunately, I think I just lost my appetite."

"You're about to lose your head!" Alexa snapped. "Scram, half-pint!" There was another crack as Louis disappeared.

"Stealthy, he is not." Warren said, dropping his arms from Alexa's waist.

Alexa sighed. "Let's go, we've got a long walk." She smiled a bit. "Unless you wanna…" She motioned toward the cliff.

"Not. A. Chance." He growled.

Alexa smiled at Warren's retreating back. "Just thought I'd ask."

--

"Well, where've you two been?" Magenta teased as Alexa and Warren came out of the woods. "Alone, at that."

"Hey Maj, your mind? Get it out of the gutter for a while, would you?" Alexa asked, walking over to where the horses were tied up.

"And make it give up the condo I just got for it? Never!"

Alexa almost fell out of Dodger's saddle from laughing so hard.

--

Apparently, Louis had decided that it was safer to his health not to tell anyone what he'd seen, so there wasn't any glaring or overprotective male relatives when the group came back inside. Alexa, however, almost tripped over a certain Russian Blue when he came running to her, winding between her legs. Muttering curses at the attention whore, she scooped Blue up off the floor, carrying him snugly in one arm into the kitchen.

"He missed you." Her mother explained, trying not to laugh at her daughter's annoyed expression.

"Yeah, cuz everyone else here tortures him." Danny snickered.

Alexa rolled my eyes. "Poor baby." She set him down, letting him go hop up on the windowsill and stare at the birds and squirrels.

Amelia glanced over at the group mingling in the kitchen. "So, what's the agenda for the rest of the day?"

"Well, me and Carson kinda wanted to go out to Dust tonight…" Daniel hinted.

"Not without Alexa." Came the immediate response. Two pairs of puppy-dog eyes turned on the older girl.

"What, so I can babysit you two all night? No thanks." She responded, grabbing a coke out of the fridge and popping the top.

"What's dust?" Will asked.

Carson was still pouting. "It's this really sweet teen nightclub in town. You can't get in unless you're thirteen or older, unless you have someone with you."

"Which we _both_ qualify for, but we still can't go by ourselves." Daniel added.

"Maybe because neither of you can drive?" Alexa suggested.

"It sounds like fun." Layla said. "And Warren's got his license."

"I love how you just drag me into this." The pyro in question sighed. "Fine. I'll go if Alexa does."

Alexa suddenly felt several pairs of eyes on her back. "Gee, thanks War." She hissed under her breath. Crossing her arms, she exhaled loudly. "Okay, we'll go to Dust."

Carson and Daniel cheered.

--

SC: Yay, I actually finished the damn chapter! Everyone cheer! Expect more updates on my other stuff too, I'm working on it!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Sky High or any of its characters, just the ones I made up. Also, I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the songs mentioned in this chapter.

Chapter 4

I'm With the Band

"So, why don't you want to go to this 'Dust' place anyway?" Magenta asked me as we got dressed.

"It's not that I don't want to go, I just don't want to have to baby-sit Carson and Danny."

"You know, Carson is fairly mature for her age, usually." Layla said, amending it at my look. "And Daniel seems like a nice kid."

"They are…" I admitted reluctantly.

Magenta put crossed her arms. "You're not telling us something."

I sighed. "Okay, the parents of a couple friends run the club. They play in the band most nights"

"And…?"

"I dated one of them for a brief period of time, after I broke up with Keith." I muttered.

"Whoa, wait a minute- you what?" Magenta asked.

"It wasn't serious- Ed was just trying to make me feel better, and trying to get my mind off the fact that most guys were assholes." I said, turning my back to them. "I haven't talked to him in a couple of years, though, since we haven't come up."

"And you're afraid Warren's gonna get all jealous." Layla finished for me.

"Actually, it isn't _Warren_ I'm worried about." I confessed. "It's Ed and the others. They're… a little overprotective." I explained, pulling on a shimmery white top.

"What do you mean?" Maj asked, curious. She'd managed to wriggle her way into one of her faux-leather skirts (because real leather would make Layla blow a gasket, and angry Layla is scary) while somehow not upsetting her leggings.

I paused, trying to think of how to describe it. "Ed just likes to make sure I'm okay. Annie… well, Annie's kinda crazy."

"Annie?"

"Ed's sister. She's… well, you'll see." There was a pounding of fists on the door. "Aren't you ready yet?" Carson demanded through the wood.

"Hold your horses, midget." I ordered, grabbing a pair of sandals out of my suitcase.

The three of us rushed down the stairs, banging on the boys' door as we did so. "C'mon, slowpokes!" Layla yelled.

"We're already downstairs!" Warren called up the staircase.

"Who shuts their door when they aren't in the room?" Magenta muttered as we now trudged down, embarrassed.

"You, sirrah," I said, poking Warren in the chest, "Are a jerk."

Warren grinned and held up a set of keys. "_I _am the jerk who's driving." He reminded me.

"When I get my license…" I muttered. "We're leaving now." I called toward the smattering of grown up persons in the kitchen.

"Have fun!" My mother called back.

"Come on, let's GO." Carson whined, tugging on mine and Warren's wrists.

"Everyone in?" Warren called over his shoulder as we all climbed into the Expedition.

"Like sardines, Warren." Magenta growled. "Let's just go."

It took us about fifteen minutes to reach Dust. "Aw, they aren't open yet." Layla said as we climbed out of the car.

I patted her shoulder. "Correction: they aren't open to the public. We are not the public." I said with a grin, walking up the large bouncer-looking fellow standing in front of the door. "Hey Adam."

"Alexa? Hey, what's up? Haven't seen you in a while." He said, lifting me into a giant bear hug. I stumbled back when he set me back on my feet. "What're you doing here?"

"I came to stare at the pretty lights. What do you think I'm doing here?" I asked sarcastically. "Can you let us in? Pretty please?"

Adam glanced back at the group hovering next to the car. "Well…"

"Aw, c'mon, Adam!" Carson called. "I'm finally old enough to get in!"

Adam sighed. "Oh, all right. I think Ed and Annie are just getting' set up."

"Thank you." I grinned. "C'mon, let's go people."

"Don't get a big head about it." Danny warned behind me. I reached back and smacked him in the arm.

"Wow, this place is awesome." Will said as we went in.

"You should see it when it gets going." I laughed at my friends' surprised faces as Annie suddenly appeared leaning against the wall next to us.

"Friends, Annie. Annie, friends." I introduced.

Annie smiled. "Oh, so you're Alexa's school buddies. Sorry if I scared you, it's a really bad habit."

"No kidding." I said, tugging her electric blue hair. "Annie can go invisible. She likes to pretend she's a ninja."

"I am a ninja, I don't know what you're talking about." She said, shoving me. While Annie looked like a normal blonde haired, blue eyed teenager during the school year, she really went crazy during the summer. Besides her radical hair color, she also had inverted contacts in, which turned her irises black and her pupil white. "I assume you didn't just come here to see the pure awesome that is me though, right? C'mon, my brother and my idiot are in the back."

"Your… did you and Nari finally hook up?" I questioned.

Annie grinned. "Yeah. Took me for freaking ever to win her over too."

"Her?" Ethan asked.

"Oh, that's what you meant. Annie's gay." Layla said, referring to my earlier comment of 'you'll see' at the house.

"I am, in both senses of the word." Annie confirmed as she led us backstage. "Plug your ears, Ed and Nari are trying to blow out their amps." She informed us with a roll of her eyes, booting the door open. "Hey, Ed, look who finally dragged her feathery ass back up here." Annie said, unplugging their guitars and plopping down on one of the couches. Ed looked up, and I saw him grin before he leapt at me.

"Alexa!"

"Hi, Ed." I greeted, returning his hug a little awkwardly. The last time I had seen Ed, we'd been dating, sort of, and Warren was RIGHT behind me… "You, uh, gonna let us come in?"

He let go of me and stepped back. "Right, sorry. Everyone should fit if we all pretend we actually like each other lots and lots." He said, motioning us in. Once everyone had found somewhere to sit down, Ed continued. "Well, I think introductions are in order. I'm Ed, you guys met my sister Annie, and the cute little Asian chick sitting in her lap is Nariko." Ed still had his natural blonde hair, though he did have in red contacts. He was at least as tall as Warren, but didn't have nearly as much muscle. Nari was a little shorter than me, which put her a good three inches shorter than Annie. Her black hair was up in two cat ear buns, and her dark eyes didn't seem to have any contact alteration today, which was a first.

"It's nice to meet you all. I didn't realize Alexa had friends other than us." She smiled at me teasingly. I shook my fist at her in response. "You guys met Adam, he's our drummer, and we never have any damn clue where Matt is. He's our other guitarist. Your turn." She said to me.

"You guys know Danny and Carson already." I said, nodding to my sister and cousin.

Ed grinned and ruffled Carson's air. "Squirt."

"Jackass."

I rolled my eyes. "Stop antagonizing my sister. Anyway, this is Magenta (_"What's up?"_), Zach (_"Yo."_), Ethan (_"Hey_._"_), Will (_"Hi."_), Layla (a much cheerier _"Hi."_), and this is Warren."

"I'm gonna hazard a guess here and say that you two are dating." Annie said.

"Gee, what gave it away?" Warren asked, grinning. I tried to elbow him, but he caught my arm and just tightened the arm around my waist.

"Yeah, we are." I answered, finally wrenching my elbow from his grip. Ed's eyes narrowed slightly, and I decided a change of subject was in order. "So, no luck signing while I've been gone?"

Nari laughed. "Alexa, do you really think we'd still be here if we'd gotten signed?"

"I dunno. With you guys? Maybe."

"She's got a point." Annie laughed. "So, Lexa, you gonna come up on stage and let me give my pipes a break tonight?"

I stiffened as my friends all looked over at me. "Alexa, you sing?" Ethan questioned, pushing his glasses up slightly.

"Hell yeah she does, like a lark." Ed said, frowning. "You guys have never heard her?"

"Ed, shut up." I ordered. "I don't sing. Not anymore." I could feel my friends' curious gazes boring into me, and it was making me uncomfortable. I pushed Warren's arm off of me and stood up. "I need some air."

~_3rd Person_~

"Alexa!" Ed called after her as the door slammed.

"I'll get her." Annie said, putting a hand on her brother's shoulder. Sliding out from beneath Nari, she went out the door.

Ed sighed as Annie disappeared. "Damn, I really thought she'd be over it by now…"

"Over what?" Warren demanded.

Nari scowled. "This is all that fucker Keith's fault. Alexa was in choir at her old school, and she had this big solo in one the concert that was coming up. She was practicing all the time, which is when that ass heard her singing and 'fell in love with her voice'." She said, air quotes and all. "Cheesier than the goddamn Disney movie."

"When they broke up, Alexa stopped singing." Ed continued. "Anything. I sort hoped she would've gotten over it by now."

"I never liked Keith, but that was low, even for him." Nari sighed. "On brighter notes, I guess Alexa finally got herself enrolled in Sky High."

The group looked startled. "Don't worry, we'll all hero's kids here. Guess Alexa didn't tell you." Ed said. "We all just decided to hang around in regular high school. None of us have particularly useful powers."

"Well, what are your powers?" Layla asked.

Ed rubbed his throat. "What are your powers?" He repeated… in Layla's voice.

"That's kinda creepy." Zach said.

"Sorry." Ed laughed, his voice back to normal.

"What about you, Nari?" Ethan asked.

Nari smiled. "I can go intangible. It's pretty cool, I guess. Our ever-late rhythm guitarist's got a little bit of super-speed in him."

"The irony." Ed sighed. The door opened back up, and Annie walked back in with an arm around Alexa.

"All right, well, we've got a stage to start setting up, so you guys are free to hang out on the floor or whatever." The blue-haired girl said. Everyone made their way back out to the main room.

It was about ten minutes later that the club's doors opened to the rest of the population, and it didn't take long to fill up. Warren sidled up to Alexa, who was sulking in a booth. "You know, I'm pretty sure I'm the one supposed to be hiding in the shadows." He said, leaning up on the back of the seat and looking down at her.

Alexa glanced over at him, then sighed and looked back at the table top. "Sorry. I just… a lot of bad memories got dredged up." She sighed. "I hate being a teenager, sometimes. Too much damn drama."

"Preaching to the choir here. I've been friends with this bunch," He jerked his thumb at their group of friends, who were all dancing together, "For a year longer than you have. Drama was an everyday thing in freshman year." Alexa laughed. "There's my girl. Now, do you wanna go… do whatever it is those guys are doing?"

Alexa paused, as though she was seriously considering it. "No, I think I'm good. Annie doesn't do many dancing songs, just ones that cause a lot of mosh pits." She smiled up at him. "Thanks for offering though." Alexa knew that Warren didn't really dance. She did, though, and Warren knew that. She tugged on his hand. "Come, sit, talk." She said, pulling him into the booth next to her.

And so it went- the two chatted contentedly in the booth, with occasional visits for drink breaks from their friends, for about thirty minutes. That was when Annie announced that the band would be taking a break and that the DJ, who the bluenette pointed out nestled on the stage's left side, against the wall, would be taking requests until they retook the stage.

"My, my, my, don't you two look cozy." Annie teased as she slid into the opposite side of the booth. "Hope you don't mind us crashing."

"What, were you spying on us from up there?" Alexa demanded, only half-serious.

"Maaaaybe." Ed said, scooching his sister over. "So, Warren…"

Alexa groaned. "Guys, don't do this."

"Alexa, it's okay." Warren assured her before turning back to the twins.

Ed grinned. "See, it's fine Alexa."

Annie's grin mirrored her brother's. "We just wanted to see how much you know about our Lexa, is all. You know, just ask a couple questions."

Warren smirked. "Ask away." He challenged.

"What's her favorite color?"

"Royal blue."

"Favorite food?"

"Thick-crust pepperoni pizza."

"Song?"

"Leave Out All The Rest. Linkin Park."

The twins looked over at each other. "He's good." Annie said.

"We'll see." Ed responded, a bit sourly. "When's her birthday?"

"July thirty first." Warren grinned a little and looked over at her. "Like HP, right?"

"God, I wish I'd never told you that story." Alexa muttered.

Ed frowned. "Favorite video game?"

"Final Fantasy nine." Warren answered easily.

The blonde boy quirked an eyebrow. "Handheld?"

"She says Zelda, but I found her Pokémon collection."

"And I curse her level eighty-seven Charizard every day." Nari said, walking up. "Now, if Ed is done with his inquisition, I brought drinks. You mind coke, Warren?"

"Nope." He said, reaching for the glass.

Annie smiled across the table at him. "Sorry about that. We just get a little protective sometimes."

Warren laughed. "It's okay- actually, I was expecting this from her family."

"No, they'll just show you embarrassing baby pictures." Alexa muttered darkly. Warren had a feeling that she'd already caught them digging out the albums and home videos.

Ed smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. It's just, after what happened with Keith…"

"Mention not his name, for it is forbidden." Nari said, smacking him on the back of the head.

"Wait- you guys call him he who must not be named?" Warren questioned.

"We felt that he was on level with Voldemort, yes." Annie said, sipping her Sprite.

Warren paused, then nodded, accepting this. "So, do I pass?"

"For now." Ed said, almost threateningly. "So, Alexa, how's Sky High?"

Alexa smiled. "It's great. I love not having to try and act normal now."

"Speaking of normality and the fact that you aren't, what happened to your wings?" Nari asked. Alexa nearly launched into the explanation of the trick, when she suddenly looked up at the speaker next to their head. The song had changed from a hard bass beat to something much more upbeat and 'Pop' like.

"Avril? Well, she's got some good dance songs…" Nari said.

"Maybe, but 'Girlfriend'?" Annie asked. "Who would…" She turned around in her seat, and gasped. "That _bitch_."

Amanda was leaning up against the DJ booth, eyes locked directly on her cousin and Warren. The smirk on her face said everything.

"Annie, Ed, I apologize to your mom and dad in advance for burning down the club." Alexa said, her eyes already black and smoke rising off her arms.

Warren put a hand under Alexa's chin, turning her head toward him. "Better idea." He said, leaning in and kissing her.

"Wow, and you said me and Annie are bad." Nari said, patting a slightly embarrassed Ed's shoulder as he looked away. "And it's not entirely what I expected, but I whole heartedly approve of this method." She added with a slight cackle as the smirk dropped off of Amanda's face and she disappeared, face red with anger, into the crowd.

"You're right, that was a much better plan." Alexa giggled as they pulled apart.

"I can't believe that bitch." Annie sighed. "Well, we gotta get back on stage. Catch you guys after the club closes." She said, shoving Ed out of the booth and heading back for the stage with Nari at her heels.

Ed frowned as he followed Annie back on stage. If Amanda was up to something, and he knew she was, he wasn't going to let her hurt Alexa again.

He gave a small, internal sigh. Why was he the only one who ever saw these things?

0~0~0~0~0

SC: Oh my god, I want to kill myself for the horror that is this chapter. A lot of it came out very forced, and I'm not really pleased with it. However, as this seems to be the best I can do at the moment… urgh. Anyway, I'd really appreciate a review or two.

EDIT as of 8/17/2010: I tweaked a bit, and now I feel much better about it. Chapter 5 will be coming within the week, I promise!

Ja neSpontaneousCombustion


	5. Chapter 5

SC: Wow, I haven't had this sitting on my computer forever… sorry guys. ^=^* It'll get better, I swear. Nothing more motivating than writing a chapter when I've got a paper due the next day. Also, I went back and edited chapter 4 a little bit. Nothing that'll change the story, but in case you wanna go check it out.

Disclaimer: Blah.

Chapter 5

Batter Up!

"Oh my god, why did we ever stop coming here?" Carson demanded. "I could've been doing this for a year."

Annie laughed. "Glad you enjoyed yourself, squirt. And thanks for helping us clean up." She added after a moment. "We usually end up spending another hour or two doing this."

Zach grimaced. "Every night? Dude, that must suck."

"Not every night. Usually just at the end of the week." Nari corrects. "But opening week is always a real mess."

"Not to mention that Ed totally ditched us." Annie muttered.

Alexa leant against the handle of her broom. "Yeah… where is Ed?"

"I don't know- as soon as we closed, he ran off. Just told me he had to deal with something. He didn't even put his guitar up." Annie shrugged. "Well, whatever. We're pretty much done, so you guys can head home. Me and Nari'll just make Ed clean up the rest."

"All right. We'll come back, probably several times, before we leave." Alexa said, hugging both girls.

"Looking forward to it." Annie said. "And if you see Ed out there, kick his ass back in here!"

"Gotcha." Alexa yelled over her shoulder. "Let's go home boys and girls. Shotgun!"  
"Aw, man, come on Alexa!"

"No way am I sitting in back again."

"My boyfriend drives, I ride shotgun. Deal with it."

"Alexa, be nice or I'll banish you to the back seat."

"…you're no fun, Warren."

"You guys having fun last night?" Aria asked her eldest daughter the next morning.

"Mostly." Alexa answered.

"Mostly? What happened?"

Alexa shook her head. "Don't wanna talk about it. I just want to go lay in the pool for the next twelve or so hours and see if I can get a sunburn."

"Oh, there'll be no lazing about today, kiddo." Troy chuckled as he walked in, pulling a baseball cap on. "We're having the family softball game today."

Alexa groaned. "You guys couldn't have at least gotten rid of _that_ while I was gone?"

"Not a chance, Alexa." Peter laughed, coming in behind his dad. "That's the best part of this. And think of all the family bonding you get to do."

"Woo. You guys get to kick the kids' team's ass at softball." Alexa muttered, waving an invisible flag.

Troy clapped a hand on her back, and Alexa felt a slight static shock. "Cheer up, Lexi. You can get your friends to play."

The slow, Cheshire-like grin spreading across Alexa's face should've been their warning. "Yeah, all right."

"Softball?" Magenta asked dubiously.

"Yeah, it's another family tradition I wish they would've gotten rid of." Alexa explained. "C'mon, please? Otherwise it'll just be me, Carson, and the twins versus the rest of the family."

"That's a little unfair."

"Well, normally we get to have some help, but since you guys are here…"

Will groaned half-heartedly. "That's not fair, you can't guilt trip us!"

"Watch me. I'll get Lily in here and have her do the puppy-dog eyes. No one can resist."

"We'll play, we'll play." Warren said, holding his hands up in defeat. "So, any rules? No powers?"

"We-ell… technically, yeah, but that usually goes out the window by the fourth or fifth inning." Alexa said. "Only real solid one is you can't get more than four feet off the ground, to keep us fliers from just popping up and catching every ball. That's taken off when someone when super strength comes up to bat though." She shrugged. "Otherwise, it's just regular rules."

There was the sound of laughter and footsteps coming down the hall. "Let's go play some ball, boys and girls!"

Alexa glanced toward the door, then back at her friends. "Also, my uncles can get a _little_ competitive."

"Captains, come flip a coin." Troy yelled, standing on the pitcher's mound. Alexa and Peter walked out to the middle of the field. "Lexi, call it."

"Heads, up to bat." She said, crossing her arms. Troy flipped the coin, smacking it down on the back of his hand.

"Heads it is. Kids, up to bat!"

"Old farts, to the outfield!" Alexa called, ducking underneath Troy and Peter's arms as she ran back to home base.

"You're gonna get hurt." Warren admonished, tugging the blonde's ponytail.

"Shut up and take the bat." She ordered, shoving it against his chest.

Warren raised an eyebrow. "Captain's not going first?"

Alexa grinned. "I wanna see if you can play. Now shoo." Warren rolled his eyes, stepping up the plate. Troy wound up, throwing the ball with enough force to rival a few professional pitchers. His jaw dropped at the satisfying 'crack' as Warren swung the bat and sent the ball flying.

"Well, _damn_." Alexa grinned as Warren sprinted past first base and over to second before Elliot tossed the ball back to Aria. Snowsong tossed the ball back to Troy, then smiled over at her daughter's boyfriend.

"You're going to fit in just fine." She said, patting him on the shoulder. Warren took this as a compliment and turned back to watch as Alexa stepped up to bat. Then he realized that he'd gotten off lucky- the moment the bat was in Alexa's hands, the taunting started.

"Holy crap."

"Yeah, she told you the boys were competitive, didn't she?"

Alexa's first hit went foul, right toward Peter's head. "She's got really good aim." Warren noted.

Aria nodded. "Well, at least she aimed for the visible one this time." She muttered.

Alexa's second swing knocked the ball into the outfield, and she made it to first.

Eight innings later, the two teams were tied. Robert, who played as the game medic, was busy looking at Magenta's hand after she'd caught a hot fly ball- and that's in the literal sense. "Maj, I am so sorry. Seriously, I mean…"

"Warren, stop it. Apologies are not your thing." Magenta laughed. "Look it's fine. I think you did the irreparable damage to my glove." She said, holding it up to reveal the smoking hole in the palm.

"Guess you got a lotta practice lobbing those fireballs at me freshman year." Will observed from over his shoulder. Warren dug his elbow into his stomach- having no effect, as Will went off laughing.

"All right, you're good. No more flaming fastballs, Warren."

"Don't worry about it." Alexa said, coming up and smiling up at her boyfriend. "Cuz I'm pitching the next out." She said, holding up a slightly less crispy ball.

"And _now_ I'm worried." Magenta said, grabbing her destroyed glove.

"Shush, you." Alexa ordered, walking back out to the pitcher's mound.

"Easy hit." Peter taunted from home base.

Alexa let out a dry bark of laughter. "Please- you are gonna be my last out." She told him cockily, winding up to throw the ball. The sound of a car pulling up the dirt driveway distracted the group.

"Hey, Amanda's back." Louis said, recognizing the car as the one his older cousin had taken from the garage earlier that morning.

"About time, she's been gone all day." Eileen said, standing and brushing grass off of her legs as she moved to walk over to the car.

"Who's that in the car with her?" Daniel asked, running up next to his aunt. His eyes widened as the passenger stepped out of the car. "Oh my god."

The ball dropped out of Alexa's hand.

"What the hell is wrong with that girl?" Troy demanded, running over from third base.

Will shielded his eyes with a hand. "Is that… isn't he the guy from…"

"Keith." Warren snarled.

"She really doesn't like Alexa." Layla gasped.

Carson looked over at her sister, her eyes widening as she saw blue flames licking up her sisters arms and shoulders. She ran over and put a cold hand on her sister's, smothering the flames. "Alexa, come on." She said, pulling her toward the house, and away from Amanda. "Come _on_, Alexa." Carson repeated insistently, pulling her sister off the field.

"Come on, let's go." Magenta said as the group of them ran after Carson and Alexa.

They came into the house only a moment after the two sisters, but were hit by a substantial wave of heat. Alexa was standing in the middle of the room, flames on high power, looking as though she was ready to tear her hair out. Carson was doing her best to keep the rest of the room from going up in smoke. "That bitch! What the hell does she think she's doing?"

"Trying to get under your skin?" Carson suggested. "That's the only reason she would bring Keith here."

"It could just be because she's a bitch." Magenta suggested. "Alexa, can you turn it down? It's already ninety eight _outside_." With a sheer exertion of will, Alexa managed to tone down the flames to a smolder.

The door opened again, and Aria came inside. "Well, the living room isn't on fire yet, so that's a good sign."

"No, that's Carson." Zach said, nodding to the tired looking cryokinetic.

Aria squeezed her youngest daughter's shoulder before turning to her eldest. "Keith is going to be leaving in a few days. He has a round trip train ticket."

"A few days isn't soon enough." Alexa snapped, the flames rising. Warren put a hand on her shoulder, and Alexa looked back at him with a guilty expression before extinguishing the angry flames.

"I'm going to my room." She muttered, taking Warren's hand off her shoulder and running upstairs.

Aria grabbed Warren's sleeve as he moved to follow her. "Just give her some time." She said, patting his shoulder before heading back outside.

Warren Peace liked to think he was a good boyfriend- at least, that's what his friends and girlfriend told him. However, apparently forty-five minutes of patience was all his 'good boyfriend' side had, so he headed upstairs and knocked on the door of the girls' room. "It's open."

"Hey." He greeted, stepping in and pushing the door shut behind him.

"Hey." Alexa said, smiling and sitting up. "What took you so long?" Warren guess that it was supposed to be funny, but it came out sounding almost sad.

"Sorry." He said, sitting down on the bed next to her. "You okay?"

"I… I don't know, Warren." She confessed. "I mean, I thought I was over it. I really did. But then… I don't know. When I saw him there, with Amanda, it was freshman year all over again. Felt like my heart was getting torn out of my chest. Except I don't _want_ to feel like that, because I've got _you_, and I'm _happy_."

Warren put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her up against his side. "Hey, that's normal after what happened between you and him." He paused. "You know I'm here for you, right?"

"Mm-hmm, and I appreciate that more than you know." She said, leaning her head on his shoulder. "You're an awesome boyfriend, you know that?"

Warren grinned and kissed her forehead. "Thanks. You do also know that I would be more than happy to make Keith's little accident freshman year look like a minor injury if you asked, right?"

Alexa laughed. "As much as I love when you get violently overprotective, he wasn't _actually_ hurt when I blew up his experiment. Just got really messy."

"Your self-restraint is amazing then."

"Thank you. But Keith… he just isn't worth it. I'll be fine, I'll just avoid him and Amanda like the plague."

Warren smiled and gave her a quick squeeze. "That's my girl. Now, come on. Magenta and Layla have decided we're going to the mall to do some stress relief shopping."

"Ooh, mall crawling. Just like home." Alexa laughed. "C'mon, you've got the license." She said, standing and pulling him after her.

"Is that all I'm good for?" He asked, only half-serious.

"Yep." She giggled, pulling him over and putting her arm around his waist and putting his around her shoulders. Warren rolled his eyes and shook her a little, trying to knock her off balance as they went down the stairs.

"So… you _like_ when I get violently protective?"

Alexa grinned. "Yeah. It's kinda hot."

Warren smirked down at her. "Good to know."

"I like it better when you stay out of detention, though. Keep that in mind please." She said, rolling her eyes.

While it wasn't quite the big city mall they were used to, it certainly was big enough to send them in three different directions. While Magenta and Layla kidnapped Alexa and took her shopping, the boys headed to the nearest video game store to browse the new releases. Eventually, Warren got tired of Will and Zach's 'PC/Console' feud, waved goodbye to Ethan, and headed out to find the book store they'd passed on their way to GameStop.

He quickly found the section he was looking for, and started browsing the books there. He ignored the presence of another person behind him, until he spoke. "You're Warren, right?"

Warren stood slowly and turned around, his eyes narrowing into a glare as he realized who was asking. Sun-bleached blonde hair framed a tanned face, falling down the speaker's back in a short ponytail. "We haven't been properly introduced." He continued, a small hint of southern twang accenting his words. "I'm Keith. I think we should talk."

SC: That boy is very brave… or very stupid. I haven't decided which yet. But, after _months_ of inactivity, I have risen from the depths of Writer's Block Hell!

…and no, I am not a zombie, so your brains are safe. Reviews are much appreciated, the next chapter is already being planned out as I'm typing this, so there won't be nearly a year in between this time. I hope.

Ja ne  
SpontaneousCombustion


	6. Chapter 6

SC: So… hey guys. Um, right, so, life's kinda been getting the way of the whole writing thing. I've been dealing with financial aid problems since school started, and they finally just got sorted out, just in time for me to need to start studying for finals- which I'm thankfully done with now. I've also been hunting for a job, which eats up a lot of free time, so my break has been kinda eaten up until now.

That being said, here's the next chapter of FA.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sky High or any of its characters, just the ones I made up. I also don't own Orianthi's 'According to You.'

Chapter 6

A Hypnotizing Tale

_"I'm Keith. I think we should talk."_

Warren stared for a moment, wondering if the boy in front of him was stupid, or just insane. Then, after a brief moment of contemplation, he realized he didn't actually care, and just wanted Keith to get out of his face. And obviously, it showed, because the blonde boy in front of him suddenly looked very nervous. It took Warren a moment to realize that he was glaring. "I think you should get the hell away from me." He growled.

"Look, you have every right to hate me. If I was in your shoes…" Keith chuckled lightly. "Actually, I probably wouldn't be half as offended. I never was very good at being a boyfriend. I just wanted to warn you."

Warren bristled, his thoughts turning toward Alexa. "Whoa, wait." Keith said, holding up his hands in peace. "I didn't mean, like, away from Alexa. I know better than anyone that I have no right t'be jealous." Suddenly, Keith looked scared, and not of Warren. "I came t' warn you… about Amanda."

"Amanda?" Warren asked, thrown off by the tone of the warning. It didn't seem to be protective or jealous. Just scared.

"I have _no_ romantic feelings for that- that witch." Keith spat. "But I do not want Alexa to go through that again."

"Go through, what, exactly?" Warren demanded, his voice still a low growl.

Keith swallowed hard. "Look, there's… there's something about Amanda's powers that she's been keepin' secret. Those… projections a hers? She can adjust those energy waves to different frequencies. Frequencies that can make people lose their heads, and do whatever it is that she wants 'em to."

"Are you telling me," Warren asked slowly, "That Amanda can hypnotize people with her powers? You really expect me to believe that?"

"How do you think I know about her even _having_ powers?" Keith asked. "Look, I didn't want to do that to Alexa. I may not have been a great guy, but I would not cheat on her. Especially not with her own family. Amanda cornered me at Alexa's party, and hypnotized me."

Warren hesitated. He wasn't a trusting guy under normal circumstances, but this was too much even for him. "Let's say, for the sake of conversation, that I believe you. How do I know you're not still under Amanda's control?"

Keith shook his head. "She didn't know how long it would last when I wasn't in constant contact with her. And she told me a lotta stuff about her and her family." The blonde scratched the back of his head. "I don't think she knew that I was pretty much aware of everything she was saying."

"Like what?"

"Like she really hates Alexa." Keith said. "I don't know what Alexa did to her, or if she did anything, but Amanda wants Alexa completely and totally ruined, if not dead. She talked about tearing her wings off a couple of times. In detail." Warren grimaced. "Yeah, I didn't like it much either. She told me everything. I don't think she knows that her control over me's worn off."

"Even if she did, she probably doesn't think you're crazy enough to try and tell me all of this." Warren pointed out.

Keith chuckled. "Yeah. Kinda why I did it in the mall. Figured there was less chance of you… doing whatever it is you do to me."

"She told you we were…?"

"I'll take it to my grave. I mean, I haven't told anyone yet. Already hurt Alexa pretty bad once, and I don't wanna do it again." He muttered, scuffing a boot against the floor.

Warren crossed his arms. "Are you going to tell Alexa?"

The teen shrugged. "Don't know what good it'd do me now. Other'n maybe stop her from barbequin' me 'fore I leave."

"I'll tell her." Warren said.

Keith looked surprised, to say the least. "You will?"

"I don't know if she'll believe me, but it might get her to listen to you." Warren said.

"Thanks, Warren. Thanks a lot." Keith said. "I, uh, better git before Amanda starts wonderin' where I am." Warren nodded, watching the other male until he left the store. With a sigh, Warren headed out of the store. He wasn't in much of a mood for music now anyway. And he _wasn't_ looking forward to telling Alexa what Keith had told him.

However, it didn't seem to be much of an issue, as Warren couldn't seem to get Alexa alone no matter what he tried. "You okay?" Warren fought not to jump as Annie seemed to suddenly appear in the seat across from him.

"That is really annoying." He told her. "And sneaking up on the guy who throws fireballs is never a good idea."

"I'll keep that in mind for future reference." She smirked, following his gaze out onto the dance floor. "You afraid she's gonna start dancing with another guy or something?"

Warren glanced over at Annie. "I'm not worried about Alexa cheating on me. I just… I need to talk to her."

"You say that like it's difficult."

"Alone. And it is, with our friends." Warren told her dryly. "They're always popping up out of somewhere without any kind of warn-"

"Warren!"

"-ing." He finished with a chuckle. "See what I mean? What's up, Popsicle?"

"We need you over there. Now. Alexa's about to blow up."

Warren sighed. "Lemme guess- Amanda and Keith walked in?" Ethan nodded. "All right, let's… uh, hey Alexa." He said, realizing that his girlfriend had just appeared beside Ethan.

"Hi Warren." Alexa said, smiling. "Annie, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Uh, sure?" Annie asked, looking at Alexa oddly, wondering what happened to Ethan's description of the girl who was about to 'blow up.'

Warren stood and grabbed Alexa's wrist as she started to walk off after Annie. "Alexa. I know that look."

"What look?" She asked innocently, her eyes gleaming darkly.

"_That_ look." He said. "The last time you had that look, you got thrown through a window."

Alexa just smiled, pulling Warren down to leave a kiss on his cheek. He felt a slight heat from the kiss, signaling that Alexa was running hotter than usual. "I know what I'm doing. Trust me."

"Famous last words." Warren muttered as he sat back down, watching as Alexa grabbed Annie's wrist and pulling her toward the stage.

"What's Alexa doing?" Will questioned as he and Layla came up next to Warren.

"I have no idea." The pyro confessed, watching as Annie and Alexa talked animatedly. Whatever Alexa told Annie, it had the singer bouncing excitedly and hugging the blonde before running back on stage and motioning for the DJ to cut off.

"Hey, everyone, sorry for stopping the music, but we've got a real treat for you." Annie grinned. "Making her grand return to the stage, I give you Alexa Hale!"

"What?" Layla asked, grinning. Beside her, Magenta cheered loudly, cupping her hands around her mouth as Alexa climbed up on stage and walked over to the microphone.

"She looks like she's going to puke." Will said.

"Don't jinx her." Layla shushed him, beaming excitedly.

Nari picked up her guitar and picked out a few notes, and Alexa joined in with a shaky voice. "_According to you, I'm stupid, I'm useless, I can't do anything right. According to you, I'm difficult, hard to please, forever changing my mind. I'm a mess in a dress, can't show up on time, even if it would save my life. According to you… according to you._" Alexa grinned, pulling the mic out of its stand as she looked over to the booth where her friends were sitting. Warren felt one of his friends nudge him, and he shoved at the offending arm without taking his eyes off the stage.

"_But according to him, I'm beautiful, incredible, he can't get me outta his head. According to him, I'm funny irresistible, everything he ever wanted. Everything is opposite, I don't feel like stopping it, so baby tell me what I've got to lose. He's into me for everything I'm not, according to you._"

"Go Alexa!" Layla screamed, along with half the crowd. Magenta stuck her fingers in her mouth and whistled.

"Who knew Alexa could sing like this?" Will called over the noise, looking over at a grinning Warren.

"_According to you… I'm stupid, I'm useless, I can't do anything right…_" Alexa finished her song as the music died off behind her, and it was quickly replaced by the roar of the crowd. Alexa grinned, blushing as Annie hugged her tightly- anyone looking close enough would've seen her mouth 'I'm so proud of you,' as she pulled away and let Ed have at Alexa. Ed picked Alexa up and spun her around, kissing her cheek. Alexa's face flushed darker, and she quickly descended from the stage and began to make her way through the crowd.

After accepting praises from what must have been half the club, Alexa managed to tumble out of the throng and into Warren's waiting arms. "How'd I do?" She gasped.

"You were awesome." Warren told her, giving her a kiss.

"C'mon, Warren, quit hogging her and let the rest of us give Alexa a hug!" Magenta teased.

Alexa shook her head, leaning against Warren's chest. "Warren Peace, you let go of me and I am very likely to hit that floor in a dead faint."

Warren chuckled a little. "You heard her." He said, shrugging as he held Alexa a little tighter.

"Alexa, that was great!" Layla gushed. "Your voice is… wow."

"Yeah, how'd you manage to hide that set of pipes?" Zach asked.

"Keeping my mouth shut, mostly." Alexa laughed lightly. "I'm sort of surprised I can even sing still, it's been sooo long."

Warren tuned out the conversation as he looked over the crowd, searching for two people in particular. He found them sitting at the bar across the room- Amanda was leaning back on the bar, looking across the club at the group with an unreadable expression on her face. However, it wasn't Amanda's reaction Warren was looking for- Keith's eyes rose from Alexa to look at Warren apologetically. A subtle, silent plea hid in that expression, and Warren sighed. "Hey, song bird, can we talk?" He asked lowly into his girlfriend's ear. Alexa nodded, complacent in letting Warren lead her outside.

"What's up, Warren?"

Taking a deep breath, Warren began recounting his encounter with Keith earlier that day.

"And you believed him? Warren, come on, I know you're smarter than that." Alexa said, sounding completely skeptical.

_Called it_, Warren thought to himself. The couple was standing off to the side of Dust, away from all of the club goers who were stumbling out and heading home. "Not really, but you have to admit that it's an interesting story."

"Yeah, well, it's one interesting story that I'm not interested in." Alexa muttered, shoving her hands in her pockets.

"Lexa, it's not healthy to hold grudges." Warren said, smirking a little.

"I'll keep that in mind, Pot." She retorted. "Come on, Warren, do you really think that Amanda could keep something like that a secret?"

"It's a possibility." Warren said.

"Why are you so keen on defending Keith?" Alexa demanded angrily.

Warren smirked. "The guy did drive you straight to me, didn't he?"

"One good thing doesn't make up for what he did." The blonde muttered, blue flame beginning to flicker across her skin.

"Hey," Warren said, reaching over and turning her face up, "Would it really kill you to listen to him?"

"Maybe." Alexa said, pushing his hand away. Warren grabbed hers, smiling.

"C'mon, Alexa, don't be stubborn. _I_ talked to him, and he managed to get away unsinged."

Alexa smiled. "And I'm still questioning your sanity on that."

"Aren't you the one who keeps telling me that I can't set all my problems on fire?"

"…touché." She relented with a smile. "I dunno, War, it's just… I don't know if I believe it. And even if it is the truth, that doesn't change what happened."

"I know." Warren said, pulling her into a hug. "And I'm not saying you have to forgive him, just think about it, okay?" Alexa sighed, nodding. Warren kissed her forehead. "Good girl."

"What am I, a dog?" She asked, shoving him back.

Warren grinned. "Keep behaving and I might give you a treat." Alexa let out an indignant shriek and started throwing half-hearted punches at him. He laughed, fending her off as they headed back inside Dust. Alexa stumbled as someone ran into her, then turned to glare at them.

"Hey! Watch where you're- Ed?" She cut off mid-rant as she realized who had run into her. Ed, however, didn't stop, busily dialing his cell phone. "Ed?"

"What's his hurry?" Warren asked, frowning.

"Dunno. Hope nothing's wrong." She murmured. "Her, however, I do hope something's wrong." Alexa said as she looked over to the bar where Amanda was sitting. The brunette had her cell phone pulled out, and whatever message she'd just gotten, she didn't look happy about it. Grabbing her purse, she stormed toward the exit, glaring at Alexa as she walked by. "Nice to see you too, Amanda! Jeez, what's with everyone tonight?"

"Guess you passed your bad mood to her." Warren suggested.

Alexa laughed. "Good. Let her be miserable for a change. Fine by-" Alexa cut off as a scream cut through the now mostly empty club. "What the hell?"

"That didn't sound like someone enjoying themselves." Warren said, running toward the back of the club, Alexa hot on his heels.

"Nari? Nari, baby, wake up. Talk to me!" The two burst into the green room to see Annie holding Nari across her lap. The Asian was unconscious and barely breathing, and there was smear of red by her visible ear.

"Annie, what happened?" Alexa gasped.

"I don't know! I wanted to see if she wanted to catch the midnight show at the theater after we closed up, and I found her like this."

Footsteps pounded down the hall, and Will appeared in the door. "What's- what happened?"

"Will, call nine-one-one." Warren ordered.

"I'm calling my uncle. Maybe he can figure out what's wrong with her." Alexa said, grabbing her phone even as Will had started dialing.

"I don't understand. You're sure there's nothing else wrong with her?"

Robert shook his head. "I'm sorry, Annie. Nari had ruptured ear drums and a slight concussion, probably from when she hit the floor, but I have no idea why she hasn't regained consciousness. None of her injuries appeared to be serious, and I couldn't sense anything else wrong with her."

Annie wiped her eyes. "Well, thank you anyway. I'm gonna go get her stuff before Ed takes me to the hospital."

Alexa squeezed her hand. "Call us if anything changes, okay?" She asked, hugging Annie tightly before climbing into the car with the others. As the large SUV and Robert's smaller sedan took off down the road, Annie sighed, heading toward the entrance.

"Annie, she'll be all right." Ed assured his sister.

"I hope so, Eddie." She sniffled, heading inside. Ed watched his sister go dispassionately, then reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, hitting the redial button.

"Amanda, it's me." He said, his voice flat.

"_Obviously, I do have caller ID, you moron. Well? Is it taken care of?_" An exasperated female voice came over the headset.

"It is. The next part of the plan can move on." Ed said, looking down at the blue-covered smart phone in his free hand.

"_Good. You know what to do._" Amanda said, hanging up.

"Of course." He said, shoving his own phone back into his pocket, holding the other phone up to examine his reflection in the dark screen. In the bright lights of the club, most would have thought it just an illusion, but the pale pink glow of Ed's eyes stared brightly back at him from his reflection.

"Ed? You ready to go?"

Ed hastily shoved the blue phone back into his pocket. "Yeah, I'm coming Annie."

SC: DUN DUN DUUNN. We've finally gotten to the good bit! I'm sure everyone's got more questions than I gave answers, like what Amanda's doing calling Ed, why his eyes are glowing pink, and what this big plan is, but guess what? You'll have to wait to find out. Sorry. I promise it won't take as long to update this time. And, while I probably don't deserve them, all reviews are appreciated!

Ja ne  
SC


End file.
